Riverboat Tour Offers New Perspective

Civic Leaders Get Different Look At Development Possibilities Along Connecticut River

October 25, 2002|By JOSH KOVNER; Courant Staff Writer

MIDDLETOWN — City civic and business leaders talk a lot about riverfront development, but many of them have never seen what the diverse, 9-mile stretch from the Arrigoni Bridge to the Haddam line looks like from the water.

So, as the city markets the riverfront to developers worldwide and awaits Route 9 improvements and the demolition of the aging water treatment plant, a large group boarded the Becky Thatcher riverboat Thursday for a 2 1/2-hour tour along the shore.

``Our intention was to change the perspective of the decision-makers,'' Mayor Domenique Thornton said.

Passengers included members of land-use and conservation boards, the harbor commission, the arts community, advocates for people with disabilities and officials of the state Department of Environmental Protection.

The Deep River Navigation Co. waived the fee for the Becky Thatcher; the city paid for the gas and crew. The view along the Connecticut River is that of a patchwork quilt: an urban park and highway, industry and lush woods.

It is on a half-mile, 85-acre swath that the city is encouraging the largely private development of a marina, park and a complex of shopping, restaurants, housing, cultural outlets and, perhaps, a hotel.

City Planner William Warner's office is running an advertisement in the current issue of Urban Land magazine, which has an international circulation. Experienced developers are asked to respond by Jan. 31 with ideas for a riverfront project.

Warner doesn't expect a shortage of interest. But it's harder to predict how altering a highway and razing a water plant -- two keys to the success of a riverfront project -- will turn out.

A public presentation is expected in November or December on two state proposals to solve the traffic boondoggle on Route 9 in Middletown and improve access to the river and downtown. The plans involve replacing the traffic lights -- long the cause of traffic congestion and accidents -- with ramps or diamond interchanges, and sinking Route 17 below Route 9 and running it to the river.

As for the water plant, Water Department Director Guy Russo's staff is studying what the system of pipes and pumps would look like if the riverfront plant were demolished and the balance of the city's wastewater was sent to the Mattabassett District in Cromwell.

The state DEP so far has been supportive of the plan, Russo said. Demolition of the plant and construction of a new pumping station would occur in 2006.